U.K. - Drug seizures in England and Wales plummet by 36% in five years

[S.J.B.]

Drug seizures plummet by 36% in five years as substance-related deaths reach record high
May Bulman
Independent
November 9th, 2017

Drug seizures in England and Wales have plummeted in the past five years as drug-related deaths reach a record high, new figures show.

Data released by the Home Office shows there has been a 36 per cent drop in illicit substances seized by the police and Border Force since 2012.

The figure fell from 148,553 to 138,955 in 2016/17, a drop of 6 per cent compared with the previous year and the lowest number of seizures since 2004.

It marks a continuation of an ongoing decline, with seizures having dropped by 11 per cent in 2016, 13 per cent the year before.

The fall comes as drug-related deaths in England and Wales hit a record high, with 3,744 people fatally poisoned by both legal and illegal drugs in England and Wales in 2016 - the highest number since comparable statistics began in 1993.

Read the full story here.

 

[S.J.B.]

Great quote from Martin Powell of Transform:

What are portrayed as massive seizures are a minor cost of business for organised crime, less significant than the food wastage supermarkets like Morrisons factor into their supply chains.